Branding has always been combined together with Cricket ever since LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) concept was introduced in India. Be it emerging firms or some established ones that are going all out for face-lift. With the Indian Premiere League doing rounds with the television rating points (TRP), advertisers are in no hurry to spend stupidious amount in the old saas-bahu saga or the most haphazardly controlled reality shows.

Cricket in itself has become a ‘Public Relations Brand’ which communicates for the advertisers. When from Danny Morrison, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Russel Arnold to Harsha Bhogle started using the same phrase to describe every little moment of success – rather turn around – I somehow skeptical about it, Googled the same. The phrase “City moment of success” as I thought was actually “Citi moments of success”! and thus is sponsored by Citi!

The popular Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is being used as a showcase for several firms backed by institutional investors that have embarked on an advertising blitz to showcase themselves and grab the attention of a nationwide audience.

Among the most notable starter is Micromax Informatics Ltd, which has become the third largest mobile phone seller in India by volume after Nokia and Samsung, dislodging established firms such as Sony Ericsson and Motorola! The success is all accounted to cricket and advertisement as a whole!

A year back Vodafone was vying hard to find a replacement to the Hutch mascot, PUG and came up with the beautiful looking sensational ZooZoos. Agree or not, but the IPL was the mother platform of its success. Every little time-slot available between the two ball being bowled has been utilized upto the fullest. Slots like Max Mobile Strategic Time Out, DLF Maximum, Karbonn Kamal Catch and competitions like Kingfisher Fairplay Award are the brainchild of MMR survey (Modi Mind Readers Pvt. Ltd.)! As a funny blogger blogged, maybe certain slots like injury breaks could have also been sponsored as Himani Fast Relief Moment with the caption: dard mitaye chutki mein!

Pepsi coming up with Youngistan Ka Wow! contest is also a massive investment in combo with Cricket. The new campaign has launched a first of its kind brand activation initiative on the radio – the Youngistaan Anthem – a song which weaves together interesting words, descriptions and phrases sent in by young people across the country on what Youngistaan Ka WOW means to them. The lyrics have been given a catchy background score by the musical duo Vishal and Shekhar.

The social media too got a piece of the cake in the form of some cool contests and various merchandise. As a part of this ambitious project, Pepsi has launched a high-decibel, 360-degree campaign which takes engagement to the next level. Apart from the on-air campaign, there would be a huge focus on the online medium including social networking sites -as stated in their press release. The first phase is out and more to be rolled out soon. A question that can be asked in the later stages is “What is the most WOW thing in India?”

Also the Indian Premiere League has given fresh life to brands like Videocon. The cute green coloured animation is far better than the old V-ring! The catch line “change is happiness” is a pleasant experience. The makeover from the sturdy steel coloured V to a fluid green colour V is indeed a happy change – and to toss it up high, the newly introduced mobile service! Social media finds a place here too!

Idea has also been regarded as one company that can rip the benefits of cricket madness in India. The “what an idea sirji” campaign was a massive hit amongst the masses and still I find the beautiful girl next door following “Walk when you talk” policy while she is on phone! Thanks Idea for the “Citi moment of success” in my life!  The Idea ungli cricket is one such simple campaign with loads of attractive quotes.

IPL again proved to the world of economics that the financial snag is all over and India is out of this recession by miles now. The race of the Brands has already began on a high note and it is only expected that the Ambanis, Mallyas and Modis will be supporting other sports too. Till then, enjoy and dance to the tune of the Youngistan ka Wow!

MMR & Fast Relief Idea taken from Faking News